Is a DSLR right for you?

Black Friday is right around the corner, and this year you can bet that there will be some great deals on DSLR cameras. But don’t make that purchase based on discount percentage alone – Let’s make sure that a DSLR is the right camera for you.

If any of the following apply, a DSLR is not the right camera for you.

You want a camera that will fit in your pocket, purse, or fanny pack

You have a budget of $200 or less

You never figured out how to program your VCR (SRSLY, these cameras have a learning curve)

The sole purpose of the camera is to take awesome “emo” pics of yourself in the mirror for myspace, or pics of your cats doing ‘cat things’

You think that buying a DSLR will turn you into a ‘photographer’ and enable you to instantly start a new business taking photos at weddings, bah mitzvahs, or other events that are IMPORTANT to people. You DON’T want your work showing up here

Photo by Member HolyBanana

If you did not know already, a DSLR is a Digital Single Lens Reflex camera. Aside from the common function of “taking pictures,” a DSLR is really a different animal than the average* point and shoot camera.

A DSLR gives you, the photographer, full control over aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. Different combination of those settings produce all of the other characteristics of your photographic expression, like bokeh, exposure levels, saturation, blur. Those three primary settings will give you the ability to capture anything from stunningly sharp sports shots to long exposure nighttime shots.

Photography is an art. A DSLR is the tool of choice for most photographic artists. However, like any tool, simply putting it in ones hands does not make one a master of it.

Using the camera’s A (Automatic) mode will enable anyone to take high quality images in pretty much any environment without knowing all of the settings. But, learn those settings, and a few basic rules of composition and you’ll be producing photos to be proud of. So are you ready to put away your cell phone camera and start capturing those memories with a REAL camera?